by Leigh Crews
I’ve seen several versions of this delicious pasta sauce recipe and ways to use it on the internet. Mine is a little different, so I’ll throw it in the mix. Do not limit this sauce to pasta, however. It makes a fantastic dip for raw veggies, topping for nachos (for that occasional splurge), or sandwich spread to replace mayo. When I use it as a pasta sauce, I lighten things up by replacing half the pasta I would need with raw zucchini noodles. Yummy! And, speaking of pasta, Barilla Plus is my pasta of choice. Whole grain pasta would be healthier, but I can’t get into the flavor or texture. The Barilla Plus has the taste and texture of the white stuff I grew up eating, but is made with lentils, chickpeas, and other good things, so it has a little more protein and fiber than white pasta.

Ingredients

1/4 box Barilla Plus Bowties or your pasta of choice

1 large zucchini cut into spiral noodles***

1/2 lemon

1 avocado, halved and pitted

½ cup chopped raw walnuts

½ cup sundried tomatoes, julienned (I use smoked)

2 tablespoons black truffle infused olive oil

1 clove garlic

2 cloves black garlic*

Fresh basil to taste

Lemon Thyme Seasoning**

Directions

Bring salted water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic, black garlic, lemon juice and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Add in the pitted avocado, basil and Lemon Thyme Seasoning. Process until smooth and creamy.

When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta, raw zucchini noodles, sundried tomatoes and walnuts into a large bowl.

Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with basil leaves, and black pepper if desired.

You could sprinkle with grated or shaved Parmesan if you choose. Don’t be tempted to increase the amount of truffle oil, as you will drown the flavor of the avocado. Enjoy this decadent meal, knowing it contains only a fraction of the saturated fat and heaviness of the traditional version. Serve it with a salad, paired with a lemony dressing and roasted pear slices and you have a family feast.

Serve immediately as the avocado in the sauce will discolor upon reheating. Serves 2 generously or 4 small.

* Black garlic—garlic that has been fermented under high heat for several weeks. Available at Whole Foods Market or online at blackgarlic.com ** Lemon Thyme Seasoning—Available at Whole Foods Market *** My spiral slicer came from Amazon and cost $5. It makes wider slices which I cut short to resemble egg noodles. For $50 or less you can buy a fancier spiral slicer which makes more noodle-like slices.